Under Shadow of the Crazyhound
by Aleirbag Eiram
Summary: When Dib contacts the spooky realm again, things, of course, go haywire. But instead of him being sucked in, something crawls OUT. Now, there are horrible things happening: Brutal murders committed by a phantom, storm clouds without rain, a monster in the dark. In order to save everything, Dib must team up with an unlikely partner. Can they save they've lost? Or will shadows win?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the Invader Zim people. However, The Hound belongs to me. And so does the old guy, but I ****_really_**** don't want to take responsibility for him. This is not ZaDr. Just thought I'd point that out...**

* * *

I tried to wipe the sweat from my forehead, but it was hard, considering the fact that I was hanging upside down.

Aaaaaaand there was the slight problem that came in the form of a totally crazed Irken laughing his head off below me.

"Ahahahahahaha!" Zim cackled. "Stupid Dib! Did you _honestly_ think that you could sneak into my base without being noticed?"

I tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but the claw keeping me suspended was too strong.

I just settled for giving Zim an ugly look.

"PITIFUL HUUUUMAN!" Zim continued to giggled. " You'll NEVER best ME, the almighty ZIIIIIM!"

"I CAN best you!" I spat. "I'm earth's protecter!"

So cliché. Why did I even bother?

Apparently though, Zim had been waiting for this answer.

"HA, DIB!" he grinned. "NONE of the other PITIFUL humans think of you as a protecter! You're just CRAZY to them!"

"But we both know that's not true!"

Man, I was literally replaying this whole conversation over in my head. I had done it so many times. He had done it so many times.

We both knew what would come next. His plan to kill me would fail, I'd escape, he'd chase me, and then some random act of nature would cause both of us to limp home miserably.

Very cliché. It was almost depressing.

"Enough talk!" the alien growled. "BEHOLD! MY NEWEST CREATION!"

Zim took a remote from his pocket and clicked the single red button on it. The floor trembled and slid off to the sides, exposing a deep pit with…. was that a cat at the bottom?

"Um…. what?" I asked, confused.

"BASK IN THE GLORY OF THE VAMPIRE-WEASEL!" Zim shrieked, waving his arms madly over his head. "BE AFRIAD!"

The creature at the bottom of the pit began to run in circles making little squeaking noises.

The alien and I watched it for a while.

"Look at it go…" Zim said half-heartily. "Isn't that… scary?"

"Yeah…" I agreed. "It really is."

We watched it some more.

"Yeah…" Zim said. "Uh…"

The weasel yawned and curled up for a nap.

We watched it some more.

"Can I go now?" I asked timidly.

Zim glared up at me.

"Just for asking, I'm going to… um…."

Zim looked around for something horrible he would do to me.

"AH-HA!" he cried triumphantly. "I'M GOING TO DROP YOU IN TO SAY HELLO TO OUR LITTLE FRIEND!"

I squirmed against the metal claw.

"No! Don't do that!"

"Too late!"

Laughing like a maniac, Zim pressed the button again. This caused the wall behind him to explode.

"ARGH!" he screamed, shielding the back of his head. "STUPID- ARGH!"

Zim fumbled around for a moment and produced _another _remote.

"HA!" the alien cackled triumphantly. "_HERE_ WE GO!"

He punched the button again, and this time, the claw holding me began to move.

"Put me down!" I ordered.

Zim dangled me above the pit.

"Say GOOD-BYE, Dib!"

The claw released me, and I fell through the air with a yelp.

When I hit the ground, I was surprised to discover that I bounced back up slightly and that I wasn't completely hurt. Zim had padded the bottom of the pit, probably to make it more comfortable for his creation.

Oh well. I wasn't complaining.

Sitting up and rubbing my spine, I glanced around and was a little frightened to find that the weasel wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Where'd it go?" I asked myself.

I felt something wet on my ankle, and I looked down to see the weasel licking my skin.

I froze, terrified.

"HA HA HA!" Zim cackled. "NOW YOU SHALL SUFFER!"

The weasel crawled onto my legs and curled up in my lap. With a yawn, it nodded off.

"Aw..." I found myself saying. I reached out and stroked it behind the ears.

The weasel purred.

"WHAT?!" Zim shrieked. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

The alien disappeared from the rim of the hole. In a few moments, an elevator appeared in the side of the pit. Zim strolled out, looking livid.

"You stupid animal!" he hissed. "You're supposed to be CRAVING blood! WHY aren't you eating him?! I've been feeding you blood since the start of-"

The weasel opened one eye to stare at Zim. Its mouth curled into a hideous snarl and it flung itself onto the Irken.

Zim screamed and tried to bat the animal off with his P.A.K legs. The weasel continued to gnaw at any bits of skin it was able to bite.

"GET OFF!" Zim screamed. "GET OFF, GET OFF, GET OFF STUPID CREATURE!"

As he screamed and flailed around, Zim back up into the wall. I saw the first remote fall out of his pocket and fall towards the ground.

"Ohhhh..." I said, my voice sounding like it was in slow motion.

The remote fell button-side down.

And then the base exploded.

"FRIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!" Zim screamed. "NOT AGAAAAAAAAAIN!"

I dropped low to the ground, covering my head with my hands. The shards of metal and stone pounded down from above, but cramming myself into a corner, I managed to avoid being squashed.

After a few moments, I looked up.

Dust and debris made me cough, and there was a cloud obscuring my vision. I managed to use a pile of rubble to climb out of the hole.

"... Zim?" I called, looking around once I had reached the top level.

No answer.

I didn't think for a _minute_ that the alien was dead. If there was one thing I could admire about Zim, it was his amazing ability to survive tricky situations and walk away with minor scratches.

At the moment though, it didn't look like he was going to be bothering me.

I sighed. This had been a complete waste of my time. Actually, I didn't even know why I was here in the FIRST place.

I think I came just to yell at Zim. I needed to vent.

_Oh well._

Just as I was turning away, I noticed a pile of rubble trembling.

"Zim?" I asked cautiously.

I was surprised when the weasel wiggled out from under the shards. It shook its fur, looking pleased.

"Oh," I said. "It's you."

The weasel squeaked and ran up to me, climbed my pant leg and settled on my shoulder.

"Heh..." I smiled, rubbing its ears. "I don't know why you're being so friendly... Aren't you a vampire?"

I thought of something and rolled my eyes.

"He's probably been feeding you IRKEN blood, huh? Stupid Zim..."

I cradled the weasel in my arms.

"Well..." I said to myself. "At the end of all this, at least I got a really cool pet."

There was a loud crash from the other side of the room. Zim stood on top of a pile, a large bazooka-looking gun on his shoulder.

"DIE, FILTHY ANIMAL!" Zim screeched. "YOU SHALL NEVER BITE ZIM AGAIN!"

I saw the weapon charge up and fire in slow motion.

"Oh."

After a few moments, I escaped Zim's base smoking, limping and bleeding.

Without my weasel.


	2. Chapter 2

I sat alone in my lab, listening to my father talk upstairs.

"Yes, I said two tons!" he roared. "Two tons of Plutonium! And get it here by Wednesday!"

I rolled my eyes.

_Wonderful. He's building a bomb or something._

It probably wasn't a bomb. Everything my father made was supposed to help mankind.

I usually ended up guarding the creations against crazed aliens who wanted to tamper with them to kill all life on earth.

It was very... exhausting.

I let out a sigh and returned to my task. Since my father had pretty much given up on me ever becoming a scientist, he let me do whatever the heck I wanted. I could sense that he was deeply disappointed, but was too proud to show it.

I held two wire between my teeth and picked up the laser.

"This is grueling..." I said to myself, wiping soot away from my face. I had been down here for hours, wielding and fixing one of my newest creations. The one that I hoped would gain me some respect. The one that was starting to make me had second thoughts about my life.

I hadn't given up on the spooky-realm theory.

I had decided that in order for me to prove that I wasn't crazy, I needed to focus on controlling the portal between the two worlds. It would then be possible to go between the lands without much trouble.

I would just have to figure out how to avoid getting STUCK in the other dimension.

I had made modifications to the scope. I had realized that my problem was the fact that I had ENTERED the realm. I needed some way to observe it without physically being inside.

Sort of like a spectator in video games. Invisible and observant.

Of course, in the future, I planned to be able to actually set foot in the place again. But at that time, I would have some way of getting back and cutting off the ties between the worlds.

I sniffed and rubbed my nose with the sleeve of my jacket. I had been working on it ever since I had gotten home for Skool two days ago. I hadn't been back since.

My father, of course, didn't notice. He was too busy SAVING THE WORLD.

I sat back on my heels and looked at my project. It looked a lot like a shower: A thin pipe in an upside down 'L' shape with a small light pointing downwards at the tip. On the side was a panel with a few controls.

The device functioned a lot like a teleportation machine. It would transfer the subject into the other realm, but act as a leash so that the subject could pull themselves out at any time.

Simple, but I hoped it would be effective.

"There..." I mumbled to myself, typing a few things into my computer. "I think it might be ready..."

I glanced up nervously.

"... For a test drive."

I was scared. REALLY scared. I couldn't forget what had happened the LAST time.

But... It was my job to test out my theories. It was my DUTY as a Paranormal Investigator.

_Crap. Why does it always have to be so hard?_

With shaky knees, I padded over to the labroom door and poked my head out. Somehow, my father's conversation had become about ME.

"Yep, MY son's crazy too..." I heard him say to the guy on the other end of the line. "... Yep... uh-huh, thought that BIGFOOT was in our garage and that a kid's FATHER was a YETI."

I frowned. I was going to say my goodbyes in case something went WRONG in the experiment, but now it looked like I would be doing my father a FAVOR if I didn't make it out alive.

I groaned and closed the door again. No going back now...

Slowly, I went over to the device and stood underneath the light.

"Begin test drive..." I said out loud, my voice cracking.

**BEEP.** said the computer. **TEST DRIVE COMMENCING.**

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

**CONFIRM COMMAND?**

"... Confirm."

The was a small hum as the device began to heat up. The light above me turned on, blinding me through my eyelids.

**LEVELS AT 82%.** said the computer. **DIMENSION JUMP IN FIVE.**

I licked my dry lips and gazed through squinted eyes around the room. It suddenly occurred to me that I might have been looking at my room for the very last time.

It was almost enough to send me running upstairs bawling, but I decided that I wasn't a sissy. I was going to do this. Even if it killed me.

"Don't think about that..." I warned myself.

**LEVELS AT 95%.** continued the computer. **DIMENSION JUMP IN THREE.**

I started humming to myself for some reason. My voice was almost hysterical and I didn't even know what tune I was singing.

I just needed something else to think about. ANYTHING else.

**LEVELS AT 99%. **said the computer. **DIMENSION JUMP IN FIVE... FOUR...**

I swallowed thickly and placed my hands at my sides.

_Here we go..._ I thought.

**THREE...TWO...ONE... COMMENCING DIMENSION JUMP.**

There was a small tingle in the tips of my fingers. I had my eyes closed tightly, so I couldn't see what was happening.

For some reason, I felt like I was floating. There wasn't any pressure under my feet, and there was a slight breeze rushing past my face.

I longed to open my eyes, but I found that fear had made them seal shut.

**WARNING. TOXICITY LEVELS HIGH.**

_Toxicity- what?_

I hadn't expected things to be TOXIC. Jeez, was life going to throw things at my face any chance it got? And what was TOXIC anyway?

**ENTERING DIMENSION.**

There was a blast of cold air. I sighed, letting the wind wash over my limbs.

_I think it might have worked..._

I opened my eyes and gasped.

_WHOA! HOLY CRAP! I really AM flying!_

I was suspended hundreds of feet in the air, bobbing up and down slowly. I looked at my fingers and was surprised to find them translucent.

"I'm a ghost," I said, a smile breaking out onto my face.

I had survived. I had FREAKING survived! Beat THAT, life!

I chuckled and made a fist-pump.

"Alright!"

I looked down and froze.

"Oh. Holy crap. This... this wasn't what I was... thinking of..."

The place that I had arrived in looked NOTHING like the place I had been expecting to find. First of all, it wasn't just ONE realm.

It was two.

On my left was a charred, black and purple land with a dark sky and broken skeleton trees. Beyond a black forest was a huge mountain range that reached into the swirling clouds. THAT was the spooky realm I was expecting.

However, my right side was the exact OPPOSITE of what I had been looking for. It started out as green hills laced with a blanket of wildflowers and then morphed into a tall green forest of beautiful trees. Just like the spooky side, this nicer side had a mountain range in the distance. But it was noble looking and topped with fresh snow.

I looked up. The skies between the two realms met directly above my head. The spooky side had a ceiling of storm clouds, while the nice side had clear skies with bright sunshine. The storm clouds did not venture into the clear sky. They stopped abruptly, as it there was an invisible wall preventing it from going further.

Looking down, I saw a small stone wall, only about three feet high dividing the two lands. It stretched of in either direction as far as the eye could see.

I was horribly confused. I had entered this dimension expecting to see a spooky, twisted version of real life.

Instead... this looked like something out of a fairy tale.

I wanted to get closer.

After a few moments, I managed to lower myself to the ground. I stood on top of the wall, inspecting it.

It looked pretty normal. Just your average stone garden wall.

I glanced to both sides. The green hills were inviting and peaceful looking. I wanted to go explore them and see what I could find.

But, at the same time... I had come prepared for SPOOKY things. I felt my gaze tuning towards the dark forest.

Almost in a daze, I jumped of the wall and began working my way into the dark.

_Bad idea..._ I thought.

I poked my head through the trees. The first thing that struck me was how abnormally _quiet_ the whole place was. There were no birds or beasts or running water, even on the nicer side.

It was like the whole place was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

Swallowing down my fears, I entered the woods. A chill passed through my limbs. There was no sunlight here.

I gazed almost longingly back at the bright hills. It would be so much better to walk in the sun...

"Stop," I growled to myself. "You've gotten this far..."

I pushed forward, pausing to glance up at the branches. The gnarled wood seems to reach out towards me, the shadows playing tricks with my mind.

"Stop, stop, stop!" I growled, hitting my skull. "Stop it!"

I took another step. I thought I saw something dart behind one of the trees, but it was probably just my warped imagination.

I continued on. Eventually, when I glanced back, I couldn't see the hills or the wall any longer.

I was surrounded by the evil trees.

I took a break from walking, sitting in the shadow of an old oak-looking thing. I sighed and rubbed my glasses on my see-through shirt.

"This isn't as bad as I thought..." I said quietly to myself. "I expected there to be a city, like last time, but I find that I like this much better... More peaceful."

Peaceful indeed. The forest was giving me the creeps.

I put my glasses back on and stood up. I had decided to go and explore the other forest for a while. Not because I was FINISHED observing the spooky realm, but simply because I was curious to see why there was a nicer version of the realm in the first place.

Just as I turned, a shape caught my eye again. This time, I was sure that it wasn't my imagination.

"Hello?" I asked fearfully, crouching low to the ground.

The shadow darted behind another tree, this time closer.

"Hello?" I called again.

A low cackle fill the air. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Oh crap..." I whispered.

The shape whipped out from behind the tree. Since it was so dark, I couldn't tell what it was.

But it had the form of an unnaturally large wolf.

I backed up slowly, holding my hands out in front of me. I didn't know WHAT this thing was, and I didn't want it to get any closer to me.

"Easy..." I said softly. "I'm not here to-"

The creature snarled and began thundering towards me. The only color I could see on it were a pair of bright yellow eyes.

"OH CRAP!" I screamed as I turned and bolted through the woods.

The creature could obviously see me. That meant that I was simple translucent, not invisible.

I wondered if the mistake was going to cost me my life.

I sped through the forest, my fear crammed down my throat and making my head spin. Somewhere behind me, I could hear the creature gaining.

I broke through the trees and stumbled into the charred clearing. I blinked a few times, looking towards the bright hills.

_If the clouds can't mix into the other realm... then maybe the creature won't be able to go there either._

It was my only hope. I didn't know how to fly, and I wasn't sure that I had enough time to send myself back.

I should try anyway.

"COMPUTER!" I screamed as I ran. "BEGIN DIMENSION JUMP!"

I heard a beep in thin air.

**DIMENSION JUMP COMMENCING. CONFIRM COMMAND?**

"YES, GODDAMN IT, CONFIRM, CONFIIIIIIIIIIIRM!"

**CONFIRMING COMMAND. LEVELS AT 72%. DIMENSION JUMP IN SEVEN.**

I wanted to cry. I didn't think I would LAST seven minutes. If I could just make it to the wall...

'WHUMP!'

Something struck me in the back of the head. With a cry, I collapsed and rolled to the side.

"ARGH!" I groaned, blinking stars out of my vision. The back of my scalp felt hot and sticky.

I scrambled to my feet and staggered forward. My vision was fuzzy.

**LEVELS AT 86%. DIMENSION JUMP IN FOUR.**

'WHUMP!'

Something hit me again and sent me flying. My face smashed into something hard and I tasted blood in my mouth.

"AH!"

Something sharp dug into the back of my neck, hooking me by the shirt. I gagged as I was yanked upwards with a great force.

I could barely see. My glasses were shattered and there was blood under my eyelids. But I could tell what was happening.

The creature had me in its mouth.

Although terror was pounding in my ears, I was aware of a sound directly behind me. It was an animal noise, a high-pitched cackle.

It was laughing. The bastard was toying with me.

"Stop..." I moaned.

The creature threw me to the side. I landed on something hard that dug into my spine.

It was the wall.

_Oh god, if I could just move a few inches more..._

I tried to drag myself forward, but something sharp pierced my collar. I cried out in agony.

Through my broken vision, I could see a huge shape looming over me. I saw the creature open its jaws into a huge, toothy grin.

"No..." I whispered. "Stop..."

Just as the maw came crashing down, I saw a shape through the corner of my vision headed straight for us. It was from the good side.

_What-?_

The second creature rammed into the first. I cried out and curled up as tight as I could go, keeping my body on the wall.

The first creature snarled in rage and stood up on its hind legs, batting at the other with its huge claws.

The second creature dodged and struck in a similar way.

I felt hot liquid splash over me and an animal cry of pain. I closed my eyes and covered my head with my arms.

_Please!_ I begged. _Send me home!_

**LEVELS AT 95%. DIMENSION JUMP IN THREE.**

One creature bit the other with its sharp teeth. Its opponent responded by digging its claws into their neck. More of their blood splashed over me.

**LEVELS AT 99%. DIMENSION JUMP IN FIVE... FOUR...**

I felt the tingling in my fingers again.

_Faster!_

**THREE...TWO...ONE...**** COMMENCING DIMENSION JUMP.**

There was a wave of heat that swept through my body. With a gasp, I clutched at my chest.

The two animals screamed. I couldn't see what was happening, but I could hear them flailing around painfully.

_What's happening? What's going on?_

**ENTERING DIMENSION.**

There was another blast of cool air, and I felt something cold pressed against my cheek.

Trembling, I lay still for a while, my eyes still closed.

_That was... that was..._

I couldn't find the right thoughts. Eventually, I managed to pry my eyelids open.

From the fuzzy images I was getting, I could tell that I was back in my lab. I wanted to cry in relief.

On shaky feet, I managed to stand and grope around in my drawers for my backup specs. My vision still wasn't 100% when I put them on, but I could see colors now.

That was good, right?

With a groan, I eased down against the wall and sat on the floor, staring at the device. What had just occurred had pretty much freaked the living hell out of me.

"Oh boy..." I mumbled. "How could I be so STUPID?"

I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. I was weary and hurt all over. The expedition had not gone at all like I had expected it to.

_At least it's over..._

**COMMENCING DIMENSION JUMP.**

My eyes snapped open. The device was humming softly.

"WHAT?!" I shrieked. "NO, NO, NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I heaved myself up and staggered like a drunken man towards the machine. I pounded on the controls desperately.

"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

The light heated up and shone brightly on the ground below. To my horror, there was something taking shape in the beam. A shape that reared up and howled.

"Oh god..." I whispered, my eyes widening. I stumbled backwards.

The shape shook itself, and for a second, it split in two. For a single moment, there were two creatures standing in the light whose features were obscured by the blinding light, before they were brought back together again.

I cried out in fear and bolted for the door. I needed to get away from this place... I needed to get to safety!

I tore open the door and slammed it shut behind me. Gasping, I crawled on all fours up the stairs and dragged myself into the living room.

There were sounds coming from below. Shattering glass, breaking shelves, roars of anger. I curled up and sobbed quietly to myself, waiting for the monsters to come up the stairs and tear me to shreds.

"DIB!"

I froze.

"DIB!"

Raising my eyes, I looked up to see my father towering over me with an annoyed look.

"What are you DOING down there?" he demanded. "I can't WORK with all this noise!"

I opened my mouth to explain, but all that came out was a soft whimper.

My father inspected me closer.

"Great Scientist, boy!" he exclaimed. "You look like you've gone through hell!"

_Pretty much._

It was then that I realized that the noises below had stopped. I blinked in confusion as my father began walking towards the lab door.

"I'll just have to SEE what sort of crazy stunts you're pulling NOW!"

A bubble of insanity built up in my head. Blubbering uselessly, I latched onto my father's arm, letting loose strings of words that made no sense.

My father shook me off.

"Stop this at once! You're acting like a child!"

I continued to beg him as he strolled down the stairs. I knew what was behind those doors. I knew what could happen.

As my father reached for the door handle, I felt tears cascading down my cheeks as I grabbed onto his back.

"Don't..." I whispered hoarsely. "Please, don't..."

Once again, he ignored me and pushed his way inside the room.

There was a pause.

"GREAT SCOTS!" my father bellowed. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.

"WHAT IN THE BLAZES HAVE YOU DONE TO THIS PLACE?!"

I peeked through the door timidly.

Things were smashed and broken. Tables were flipped over and vials of liquid were mixed in puddles on the floor.

My father turned towards me angrily.

"You irresponsible boy!" he snarled. "Can't you be NORMAL for once?"

Those words would have usually stung me to the core. It was the first time he had ever said them. The first time he had accused me of being anything other than crazy.

But now, even under his deathly glare, I was numb to my surroundings.

In the entire room, there was only one thing left standing: the device. Mockingly, it stuck out of the rubble, almost like it was saying; 'You can't get rid of ME.'

But that wasn't what frightened me.

There, by the far end of the room, next to the shelves was a huge gaping hole in the wall.

And next to it, stained onto the plaster in a strange black liquid, was a huge, canine footprint.


End file.
